People have enjoyed playing poker-type games for many years. People particularly enjoy games which are interesting and exciting. When players are given the opportunity to wager on the outcome of a given poker hand, the games are usually considered more interesting. The level of interest will also typically increase as the amount wagered by the players increases.
One type of poker game which is particularly popular is stud poker. In various forms of stud poker, a player receives cards (or the electronic equivalent thereof) from a dealer and the player forms the best hand from his/her combination of cards according to a predetermined poker hierarchy. "STUD" poker is distinguished from "DRAW" poker which permits players to exchange one or more cards from the initially dealt hand for replacement cards. In STUD poker, a player must play the cards that the player is initially dealt.
Conventional games of DRAW poker require each player to make an initial bet, i.e. an "ante", and then provide players with the option of increasing the amount wagered before receiving a complete hand. In a conventional STUD poker game, the amount that a player may increase the wager may have a maximum limit but is typically not predetermined.
People desiring to participate in poker games at a casino or other gaming establishment can feel intimidated if they do not know the rules of the game. It would therefore be desirable to provide a novel poker game which offers the excitement of multiple wagers and requires players to make a number of decisions for each hand, but relieves players of the responsibility of determining the amount of their wager.
Another aspect of conventional casino poker games is the requirement that a plurality of players participate before the game commences. It would therefore be desirable to provide a poker-type game which permits play with a single player.
Since conventional games require all players in the game to play either five or seven-card versions of the game, it would also be desirable to provide players in the same game and playing the same hand, with the option of playing hands which utilize different amounts of cards (or the electronic equivalent thereof).
It would also be desirable to provide game layouts comprising indicia which indicate when and where wagers should be placed for inexperienced players.
It would also be desirable to provide a game which simplifies the player's decision as to the amount of wagers made following the initial wager(s).